


Butterfly Bandage

by holtzdamn



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Angst, Break Up, Breakup, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Get back together, Holtzbert - Freeform, M/M, Post Movie, Smut, butterfly bandage, holtzdamn, the aim of this fic is to make people cry, youve been warned lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 15:45:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8377951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzdamn/pseuds/holtzdamn
Summary: It's been nearly two years since the Ghobusters saved New York City and nothing could be more different.Holtzmann and Erin having a messy break up along with there being a lack of paranormal entities to control lead to the unofficial disbanding of the Ghostbusters. But recently Abby and Patty have found something; and it's gonna be big.Holtzmann and Erin must put their personal differences aside and maintain their professionalism whilst both trying not to get their hearts broken all over again.





	

_ Erin woke up with a groan, raising her arm against the sunlight filtering in through the window. With a sigh she turned over, now facing a small blonde woman who was graciously sprawled across the bed, mouth agape and snoring quietly. Erin smiled, carefully tucking back a stray piece of curly blonde hair behind Holtzmann’s ear. _

_ She rolled back onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments before realising  that the light,coupled with her girlfriend’s snoring, meant she was not going to be going back to sleep anytime soon. _

_ She slowly sat up and swung her feet onto the floor, wincing as the cold hardwood sent shivers through her body. She sighed and stood up, walking over to the bedroom door and opening it slowly; so as not to wake up Holtzmann. _

_ Erin walked over to kitchen, turning on the stove and getting a frying pan out of the cupboard overhead. _

_ “Morning, baby,” Said a voice from behind her as she felt hands on her hips and -- _

 

\-- a chin resting on her shoulder. Erin smiled softly as she placed her hands on Garrett’s.

“Morning,” She replied, turning to give him a peck on the lips before walking over to the refrigerator and getting the bacon and butter. “Do you want some?” Erin asked as she walked back over to the stove and placed two slices of bacon into the pan.

The smell of bacon slowly began to fill the room and Garrett nodded hungrly. “Yeah please, love” He replied enthusiastically.

Erin smiled again and took the bread out of the cupboard whilst Garrett went back into the bedroom, presumably to change.

She sighed contently, glad to finally have time for a lazy day now it was getting towards the end of the school year.

She had all lessons for the last few weeks of the semester planned in and mentally thanked her past self for her organisation; despite what most thought, teaching second grade was hard work.

“Hey, love,” Garrett called from the bedroom.

“Yeah?” Erin called back as she flipped the bacon in the pan.

“Abby Yates is calling, do you know an Abby Yates? Hey wasn’t she a member of that ghost club you were in?” Erin froze, unsure of what to do or say.

“Um, no I don’t think so, she must have a wrong number,” Erin crossed her fingers as she heard Garrett relaying what she had just said.

“Uh no she said she's looking for an Erin Gilbert,”

“Fuck,” Erin cursed.

“Something wrong? She’s really insistent on talking to you, says it’s important,”

Erin quickly rushed over to the other room, quick to take the phone before her ex-colleague said any more to her oblivious boyfriend.

“Could you go check on the bacon, honey?” Erin asked. Garrett nodded with a confused look on his face as he left the room and closed the door.

“Hello?” Erin said as she placed her mobile to her ear.

“You’ve got a boyfriend?” Abby exclaimed down the phone. Erin winced at the unexpected loud noise, picturing the look of shock that was on Abby’s face right now by the sound of it.

“Yes,” Erin replied simply.

“And he’s irish too. That’s _ nice _ ,” She stated, dragging out the last word.

“Abby, you’re asexual,” Erin reminded her impatiently.

“Yeah so? I’m not deaf and Irish accents 

are  _ nice. _ What’s he like? What does he do?” Abby gushed, behaving as if it had been a day since their last conversation.

“Wait why’re you calling?”

“Can’t a girl call up her friend for a little chit-chat?” Abby asked innocently. 

“It’s been six months,” Erin stated plainly. Abby and Erin hadn’t been intentionally avoiding each other but life was keeping them both busy; especially since Erin had moved out of the city. The two usually texted every now and again, updating each other on what was going on with their lives. However Erin had neglected to tell Abby about Garrett, and for a good reason too.

“Okay yeah so we may have a tiny teeny problem,” Abby began.

“What?” Erin said, scared to hear the answer. “Is Patty okay? Is Ho-” Erin stopped herself, she didn’t care about  _ her  _ anymore, she reminded herself.

“Yeah they’re both fine,” Abby said slowly. Suddenly the talking became muffled. It sounded as if she was talking to someone else in the room but Erin was unable to make out what exactly.

This continued for a few moments before Abby spoke to her again.

“Look I know it’s been a while, but I still do checks every now and again in places Patty says are likely to contain paranormal activity,” Abby admitted. “I never got anything. Until recently,” Erin’s heart stopped.

“What? You mean…” Erin trailed off, feeling the tingling sensation she got every time they found evidence that the spectre that had haunted her as a child was more than her imagination. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt in over a year.

“Yeah, and whatever I found, it’s gonna be big,” Abby said excitedly. “Look I know you and-,”

“Don’t, Abby. It’s been years we’ve both moved on and we’re adults,” Erin didn’t want to think about  _ her _ right now.

All of a sudden Erin heard a rustling sound and muffled speech on Abby’s end of the line again. “Abby?” Erin called, trying to make out what was being said and who was saying it.

“Hey!” She heard Abby faintly chastise someone. “Stop it you’re gonna-No. Give me that!” Erin heard more rustling and what sounded like a smashed glass. Suddenly everything was no longer muffled and Erin heard a familiar voice.

“Oh shoot,” She heard Holtzmann slur faintly. “Don’ worry, Abby I got this,” Without a second thought Erin hung up the phone.

A million questions were running through her mind. Had Holtzmann heard what she had said? Did she believe what she’d heard? Why was she drunk at 10am on a Saturday? Were the Ghostbusters getting back together? What had Abby found exactly?

“Bacon’s ready, love,” Garrett called from the kitchen.

What the fuck was she going to tell Garrett? He knew that she’d been in the Ghostbusters a few years ago and that she’d helped the mayor with some problems regarding paranormal activity. But she’d scaled it down as much as she could and omitted certain details (details in this case being that it had in fact been the Ghostbusters that had saved the city. That and a certain slightly more than platonic relationship with a certain blonde engineer).

“Coming,” Erin called back.

Her phone buzzed, displaying a text from Abby:

 

_ What gives? Guessing you didn't tell Garrett about NY. You in? x _

 

Erin unlocked her phone and replied as she went back into the kitchen:

 

_ Lost signal. Some of it... Talk later x _

 

\------

 

Dr Jillian Holtzmann was a genius. Perhaps slightly unstable but a genius nonetheless.

So why, she asked herself, was she currently sprawled across the couch on the first floor of the Ghostbusters headquarters, barely able to stand from the amount of liquor in her system right now. On a Saturday morning nonetheless; again.

Holtzmann vaguely registered the door to the firehouse opening and slowly opened her eyes to see her collegaue, Dr. Abigail Yates stood above her with her eyebrow raised and a look of pity in her eyes that ruined her scornful façade.

“‘Suppp Yates-ermeister,” Holtz slurred, trying to smile but more than likely grimacing.

“Have you been here all night, Holtz?” Abby asked gently.

“I don’t...really know,” Holtzmann admitted, dragging out the last word. “Maybe? You’re here so prob’ly,”

Abby sighed, picking up the empty bottles of fireball whiskey that were next to the couch and took them over to one of the emptier work tables.

“Do you have any more?” Abby asked. Holtzmann looked away from her quickly, gazing at the ceiling.

“Nooo, pfft,” Holtzmann replied, glancing quickly at Abby then looking away again.

“Jill…” Abby pressed.

“Abigail Yates,” Holtzmann cried, standing up suddenly before quickly grabbing onto her friend for balance. “I am appalled at your opinion of me! The very thought-”

“Where is it?” Abby interrupted simply. Jillian rolled her eyes and begrudgingly pulled out a half empty whisky bottle from her crimson robe, reluctantly handing it over.

For months both Patty and Abby had tried to push Holtzmann to see someone about her drinking habits but she had refused to budge. Refused to even admit she had a problem and said ‘even if I did I would never go to one of those stupid AA meetings, no matter how hot the girls there might be’.

But over the past few weeks they had managed to make her see that it couldn’t hurt to at least cut down. Holtz had taken that as a suggestion that she went cold turkey. Big mistake to say the least; she’d spent the couple of days that she’d lasted throwing up, lying in bed and shaking. In the end Holtz admitted defeat and was now drinking more than ever and had been for a few days now. Abby and Patty hoped it was just to make up for the days she had missed and would subside soon. 

“Thank you,” Abby said, putting the whisky with the empty bottles. “Now please be quiet Holtzy; I’ve gotta make an important call,”

“Erin,” Holtz stated simply. “Don’ worry I’ll be good,” She drunkenly smiled. At this Holtzmann zoned out, gazing around the fire house as if this was the first time she’d seen it all. 

Soon the confiscated alcohol caught her eye. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Abby called without looking back at her.

Holtzmann huffed, blowing a strand of blonde curly hair from her face and pouting.

She quickly glanced over at Abby who was now deep in conversation with Erin and- for once- paying no attention to her.

Slowly, Holtz stumbled over to the discarded bottles, focused only on the one that still had some drink left in it to further numb herself. If that was even possible at this point.

“Hey,” Abby cried, catching Holtzmann red handed. Holtz quickly picked up the half empty bottle and began to drink what was left. 

Abby quickly ran over to Holtz and tried to pull the bottle away from her with one hand and covering the microphone on her cell with the other. 

The two began fighting for the bottle against the desk. “Stop it! You’re gonna-”

“Come onnn, Abs,” Holtz pleaded.

“No!” At this Abby gave a final tug; the exact moment Holtzmann let go with a sigh of defeat. Abby fell into the table, knocking the empty bottles to the floor. The glass shattered against the linoleum, cascading across the floor.

“Oh shoot,” Holtzmann slurred, dropping to her knees to clear up the mess. “Don’t worry, Abby- I got this,” She continued, grabbing a handful of the razor sharp shards. 

“No, Jill,” Abby put the bottle in her hand back on the desk and quickly bent over to yank Holtz’s hand away.

“Fuck!” Holtz cried out in pain, opening her clenched fist to release the glass shards that were now tinted red with blood. “I’ll admit… that wouldn’ have hap’ned if I was not intoxi-” She paused mid word to allow a loud burp to escape her mouth. “-cated,”

“Just go lie down, Holtz,” Abby said with an exasperated sigh. “I’ll clean up here and get you some water,” 

Holtzmann looked up at Abby and saw in a moment of sobriety just how exhausted her friend looked. Her hair seemed more lank in her usual bun, she had dark circles under her eyes that she’d tried to hide with concealer and she looked as if she’d lost some weight around her face.

This was what those AA people would call Jillian Holtzmann’s moment of clarity. The moment she could see the effect that basically caring for her 24/7- with as much help from Patty as she could give- had on Abby. The guilt stabbed through her chest like a dagger.

Holtz stumbled back over to the couch and slouching in it, playing with her thumbs.

Eventually she looked up and saw Abby on her phone again.

“Erin? Hello?” She called before realising that the call had ended. Again Abby sighed and began texting away, most likely still trying to convince Erin to rejoin.

“Here you go,” Abby handed her a cup of water- plastic, Holtzmann noticed- before sitting next to her and opening the first aid kit in her other hand.

“Give me your hand, Jill,” Abby asked, holding her hand out with a pair of small tweezers in the other. 

Holtz obliged, wincing as Abby picked out the more visible bits of glass still stuck in her hand.

Holtzmann slowly sipped at her water, the guilt and the pain in her hand sobering her up faster than usual.

“I’m sorry,” Holtzmann mumbled, taking a sip of her water.

“It’s okay, you were only trying to help,” Holtz shook her head at Abby’s response.

“No not about the glass- I mean I’m sorry about that too. I mean about being such a burden. I’m gonna try harder. Especially if we really are getting back together,” At this Abby smiled, wiping Holtz’s hand with an antiseptic wipe and wrapping it in gauze.

“I’m glad, Holtzy. Don’t just do this for the Ghostbusters though; do it for you. Besides, I don’t even know if this was a fluke or if Er-,”

“S’not a fluke, Abs. You’re too good at this for it to be a fluke.  _ We’re  _ too good at this,”

Abby laughed quietly , snapping the first aid box shut. Holtzmann could swear she saw some of the fire return to Abby’s eyes at the mention them getting back together like old times, doing what they all do best. From the blur that had been her life recently she vaguely recalled Patty agreeing to commit some time to the Ghostbusters again, but until something big happened she had to focus on her duties as a historian.

Holtz smiled when she remembered that Patty had finally gotten her dream job, even if it was mostly because the Ghostbusters had unofficially disbanded. They were still fully funded. For now. Abby still virtually lived at the firehouse, Holtz did live at the firehouse, unable to admit to Abby or Patty or anyone that she had been kicked out of her apartment.

As for Erin, Holtzmann was clueless apart from that fact that she knew Erin now lived out of the city but still in the state. Would she be willing to rejoin? What if she couldn’t leave the past in the past? Holtzmann almost laughed aloud at this. Erin had barely considered Holtzmann her present even when they were dating, of course she wouldn’t be the one to have problems letting go.

Regardless Holtzmann needed to prepare herself. Although Abby hadn’t actually told her anything, knowing what Holtz did about Erin she would once again be in the presence of her ex all too soon.


End file.
